The Fountains
1787–88
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
255.3 × 221.2 cm (100 1/2 × 88 1/8 in.); Framed: 265.5 × 233.4 cm (104 1/2 × 91 7/8 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
57051
Art Historical Context
Hubert Robert, the renowned 18th-century French painter dubbed "Robert des Ruines masterfully captured the allure of antiquity in *The Fountains* (7–88). This grand oil on canvas, measuring over eight feet tall, exemplifies his signature style within the Neoclassical tradition, blending real architectural motifs with imaginative landscapes. Created on the eve of the French, it reflects the era's *goût pour les ruines—a fashionable fascination with decayed grandeur that evoked nostalgia for ancient Rome amid Enlightenment ideals. Robert's technique shines in the luminous play of light on casca...
About the Artist
Hubert Robert · 1733–1808
Hubert Robert, born on May 22, 1733, in Paris, emerged from a modest background; his father, Nicolas Robert, served the influential Choiseul family, whose patronage shaped the young artist's path. After completing his studies at the Jesuit Collège de Navarre in 1751, he entered the atelier of sculptor Michel-Ange Slodtz, who taught him design and perspective before encouraging a shift to painting....